Rowena
by Malicious Wonderland
Summary: Rowena Ravenclaw was intelligent even from a young age.When she is young her parents die, leaving her with her godparents. This is the story of one of the brightest witches in the history of magic.
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1**

Even from a young age Rowena's parents knew that she would be special. But they did not know that their daughter would be as great as she was. They never knew what their daughter would have to face. She would grow up to be a great witch, a mother, wife and a founder of the greatest school of magic.

She would face death, love, basilisks and so much more and nothing her parents could do would prepare her for any of it.

Rowena's parents died when she was just fourteen years old. She was left with her godparents, Gregory and Hilary Gryffindor, and their son, Godric Gryffindor. The Gryffindor family continued to raise her and teach her to properly use her gifts. Magically, she rose past the level that they could teach. The roles then reversed. Rowena taught Godric. During the first two years that Rowena lived with her adopted family, her and Godric met two other very accomplished people. A witch, Helga Hufflepuff, and a wizard, Salazar Slytherin. Together they created a place that would change the lives of the witches and wizards of the future. But it involved a lot of time, effort and complications.


	2. Chapter 1

"Rowena, you're here finally." Hilary Gryffindor held the young girl in a tight embrace. Rowena doesn't say anything. She just stands there. The Gryffindor family just stands there. Gregory knew that this couldn't be a great start.

All there is is a very awkward silence.

Hilary finally speaks. "Um, you haven't met our son, Godric, have you?" Again Rowena doesn't speak. "Godric!" The woman calls. "Godric, our guest is here!"

_Their guest. _Rowena thinks. _I know why I'm here. They do too. My parents are dead. I have nowhere else to go. I'm not a guest, I have to live here from now on, whether I like it or not. _She doesn't show her thoughts though.

After a moment Godric, who looks to be about the same age as Rowena, opens the front door to the house. He flashes her a smile, which she doesn't return. Instead she takes this time to take a look at the front of her new home. Godric's Hollow. It was a large mansion-like building, made of bricks. There were ivy vines rising to the windows of the third floor. The flowers that the young girl could see were beautiful and blooming prettily. Apparently it had been built many years ago by a Gryffindor ancestor. Not that she cared at all about the house. It was just something she had read somewhere. Things like that stuck in Rowena's brain.

Gregory interrupts the silence. "Godric, why don't you show the young lady to her room? After dinner you can give her the grand tour. That is, if she is up to it of course."

Rowena smiles weakly. They _were_ trying.

Godric, with another small smile, takes Rowena's hand causing her to jump. He looks at her strangely when she does. When they're out of the hearing range of his parents, he speaks. "So how long are you going to be staying here?"

Rowena doesn't answer.

"Right. Well how old are you?"

Silence.

"You know, we are going to be living together for a while so you should give up this whole silent act. It will make things a lot easier." There's no answer until they reach Rowena's new room.

"My parents are dead," She whispers, "I'm not leaving. This is my new home." She bursts out crying, jumps onto her bed and doesn't look up. The young boy doesn't know what to do.

"Um, I'll be back for you at dinner. There are clothes in the cupboard. Ring this bell if you need me." He waves his wand and a small glass bell appears, then he leaves. Rowena lies there and cries for at least an hour. Her mind kept playing over the scene. Well, as much of the scene as she knew.

_She had gone into the barn to collect eggs and some milk. She sat down in the hay, just for a moment. She hadn't slept in days. Her eyelids grew heavy and she fell asleep._

_When she awoke, she realized that it was well past midday. She gathered the eggs and milk that she had first come for and ran out the house. But when she got there, she dropped the things that she was carrying and just stared. _

_Her house, the place that she had lived in her entire life, was nothing but rubble. She climbed over the piles of rock, wood and metals calling out to her parents._

"_Mom! Da! Please, where are you?" Eventually she found them and it was a sight that she never wanted to see again. But she did. Every night she saw it, in her nightmares. _

"Um, Raven?" Rowena's head shoots right up but she doesn't turn to face the door.

"Raven?" The voice repeats. She realizes that it is Godric.

"My name is Rowena," she whispers.

"Oh, well I am sorry. Well dinner is ready." She gets up and silently walks to the door. Godric walks her to the dining hall, biting his tongue to stop himself from mentioning what she wore. A plain grey dress with not even a simple pattern stitched to it. But this _was_ her first night here; she simply needed to settle in. _Maybe she'll even start talking_, he thought.

There was no surprise when she didn't talk during dinner. Afterwards she returned to her room, not bothering to answer when the Gryffindors offered a tour of their home.

The next day the two adults leave for a trip that they were taking to a small village about 30 miles away. They would be gone for a week leaving their son and Rowena in charge of the house. As usual Rowena stayed in her room for the day.

Somebody interrupts her thoughts by knocking on the door.

"Rowena?" Godric calls through the closed door. "Are you decent? May I come in?"

There was no reply to either of his questions. "Fine!" He mutters _Alohamora _and the door opens. "We have to get along if you're going to be living here." Rowena agrees by simply nodding her head. Godric comes and sits on the bed next to her. "So let's learn a bit about each other…"

Rowena gave up her silence and told her new friend everything.


	3. Chapter 2

"Rictusempra!" The spell was cast by the young man with the golden hair.

"Protego!" The young woman deflected the spell and cast another wildly, her dark hair flowing behind her. "Incedio!" The spell caused her opponent's robe to catch on fire. He muttered a word and water extinguished the fire.

"You always get me with that combination Rowena," He shook his head. "I will eventually learn."

Rowena laughs, "You will, but I'll keep on learning too. I'll always be a step ahead of you, dear Godric."

Godric sits down, exhausted from their fierce duel. Rowena gracefully sits beside him and they stare out at the sparkling lake before them. All was silent, except for an owl above them in a tree. Then Godric speaks. "Rowena, I have been thinking. Nothing will be done without your consent of course, as this is your home too. Well, two childhood friends of mine are coming here to study with a wizard in the village. They both need a home for the next year, at the least, and I was going to offer that they stay here. I mean, the house is so empty with just us and the house-elves."

Rowena was silent. She had always considered Scotland her home, but over the past five years she had learned to love the mansion of Godric's Hollow, from the beautiful gardens to the small cottages down the dusty road. "If…if you wish to have them here, then make the offer."

"Are you sure? As I said before, this is your home as well as mine."

Rowena nods, stands up and mounts her black horse. Godric mounts his own horse and they set off towards the house. She then decided that she should know about the people who would possibly be soon living with her. "So, who are these old friends of yours?"

"Well, I've been keeping track of them by writing to them since I was thirteen, so I know what to expect. There's Helga Hufflepuff, who is the same age as both of us. She is so loving. She wouldn't hurt a fly. Everywhere she goes people fall in love with her instantly. There is just something about her. She accepts life as it is and finds the best in all."

Rowena smiles, "She sounds lovely."

"She is. Then there is Salazar. Salazar Slytherin is 3 years older than us and can take a little time to get used to. He…well, he loves power, there is no point trying to deny that."

"He...he isn't dangerous is he?"

"No, no. Perfectly safe. Salazar appears cold and heartless at first, but that is just a mask. He actually got me out of a few tight spots when we were younger. Don't judge him on first impressions. Once you get to know him, you'll see another side of him."

_But do I want to know him at all? _Rowena had a terrible feeling about this Slytherin man.

Helga and Salazar arrive exactly three weeks after the duel at the lake. Helaga arrives in the morning, Salazar in the evening. As Godric had said, Helga made people instantly love her and the Rowena found herself opening up to the girl right away.

"Oh, Godric, who is this?" Introductions were made between Rowena and Helga. "How long have you been here?" She asks. If it had been any other person Rowena would have most likely not explained herself, but the brown-haired girl in front of her seemed so sweet and kind.

"About five years. My parents died in a fire when I was younger and I was adopted by the Gryffindors."

"Oh, yes. I remember Godric talking about you in a few letters that I received probably at about the same time that you arrived."

Godric interrupts Helga. "Yes, well things have changed between Rowena and myself since then Helga. Now, would you like something to eat?"

Meeting Salazar was not as pleasant as the introductions in the morning. Godric had taken Helga on a tour of the house's large grounds and Rowena was alone. That was when he arrived.

He was wearing a black cloak and emerald green clothes. His skin was as white as chalk and his hair as dark as the night sky. Godric had said that this man was about 22 years old, only 3 years older than her, but this man looked much older. His eyes had dark rings around them and his lips were thin and pale, just like his face.

When Rowena opens the door he pushs his way in and then passes her his cloak. "Here girl, don't ruin it. Now where is your master? He's been expecting me."

Rowena is shocked. "_Excuse me? _How dare you treat me like this? If you are to live in this house with me then you will have to treat me properly!"

The man smiles and it looks disgustingly unnatural. "Oh, yes. You must be the girl who was abandoned here. Well off you go, I'm sure Mr. Gryffindor has things for you to do."

"I live here. This is my home. You are only here because I am allowing it and if you treat me like this again I will have to send you away."

Salazar sighed. "I see that you have not yet learned your place. Keep your mouth shut girl and stop making up silly little fantasies. Godric would not have given any rights to his house to some girl."

"Ah, but that's where you would be wrong Salazar," Came a voice from the staircase. It was Godric, who had arrived just in time to stop Rowena from attacking Salazar. "Meet Miss Rowena Ravenclaw. She is as much the owner of this house as I am and you are not to treat her as anything less if you wish to stay here. Understood?"

"Perfectly. Now where is the beautiful Helga? There. Good evening!" Salazar's voice was suddenly changed to very fake sweet one. "Helga my dear, long time no see. How are you?"

The pair start talking of the years that each of them had missed and soon Godric joined them. Rowena was left out with nothing to say, so she retreats to her library. It had been built just for her and designed by her so it was her idea of perfection. The floors and shelves were a dark wood and suited the leather book covers perfectly. She must own thousands of books, most of them already read. She had many favourites, which she knew by heart, yet read them over and over again.

Another magnificent feature of her library was the ceiling, on which she had used magic to make it identical to the sky that she remembered from her home in Scotland. She had crafted the spell herself and she thought that it possibly her biggest achievement. Right now the ceiling was a light blue with wispy white clouds.

She reads for a few hours before deciding that she cannot hide from her houseguests much longer. So she goes down to the dining hall, where she knew they would have started their evening meal already.

Rowena enters the hall, apologizes for her lateness and sits down beside Helga. The two girls speak through most of dinner, as do Godric and Salazar. Afterwards Rowena returns to her library. Everything is silent and perfect until-

"Incredible room you have here Miss Ravenclaw." Of course it wis Salazar ruining her peace. "I have never seen so many books in one room at a time. Tis a fine collection. And the ceiling looks marvellous. I've never seen such magic." He walks over to a bookshelf, removes a book and flipps through it carelessly.

_This room is mine; the Gryffindors gave it to me for my fifteenth birthday. He should not be in here. _

"Yes, well I'm afraid that I must ask you to leave Mr. Slytherin. This is my private library."

"Please, call me Salazar. And I shall call you Rowena, for it is a lovely name. I believe it was your mother's as well, no? Yes, she had a wonderful library as well. Very famous for it. So tragic to hear that it was all lost in the fire…and your parents were a terrible loss as well, of course."

He was bringing up memories that she did not want to resurface. Rowena playing on the library floor while her mother read aloud to her. Being taught to read by the fireplace. The fire…

"Yes, it was tragic. Now, please, leave." She would not let him see her cry.

"Very well, as you wish."

Once he leaves, she lets the tears and memories come to her. She cries herself to sleep by the fireplace and knows that tomorrow would be no better.


End file.
